Cooking Show: Gluten-Free Pasta Party!

I've been toying with the idea of a pasta-themed cooking show for a while.  I knew that I didn't want to do a run-of-the-mill show with a basic spaghetti/meatballs/tomato sauce menu, but other than coming up with a couple of different sauces I still couldn't figure out what else I could do to make it more interesting.

Enter my friend Joanie.  She agreed to cook with me for the show, and I told her about my idea for a pasta show featuring a couple of different pasta sauces.  She replied, "and how about using pasta that isn't wheat pasta?"

Bingo!

We could prepare the sauces, and then critique the gluten-free pastas.

We paired a creamy tomato sauce with chick pea spaghetti, and soy fettucine with an alfredo sauce.

First up was the soybean pasta Alfredo with Chicken and Broccoli.

Heavy cream is a hallmark of classic Alfredo; however, I use light cream in my Alfredo sauce instead. Making this swap only sacrifices calories, not flavor! 

Click here for the printable recipe.

As promised, Joanie and I offered our critique of the soy pasta.  We were happy to be in agreement!  But that's about all that we were happy about.

The positives: 1. The pasta remained firm in texture.

                        2. It only took about 2 minutes to cook the pasta 

                            

The negatives: 1. There was no flavor at all to the pasta.  It did not even retain the slightest

                            bit of salty flavor from the salted water that it was boiled in.

                         2. The pasta did not hold the sauce at all.  It slid right off and pooled on the plate.

I would not recommend soy pasta!

Next on the menu was chickpea Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce.

This is a very simple, quick, flavorful red sauce.  The addition of a bit of cream at the end gives it a nice, rich texture.

Click here for the printable recipe.

Once again, Joanie and I were in agreement as we critiqued the chickpea pasta.

The positives: 1. It was very flavorful!
                        2. It held the sauce very nicely.
                        3. Chickpea pasta has about 3 times as much protein as traditional pasta!

The negatives: 1. It doesn't turn entirely soft and mushy, but it does get starchy-soft on the
                             surface.  It still retains a bit of a bite...but if you prefer a true al dente pasta
                             you would probably be disappointed.

Lemon Drop Martini

We did not prepare these drinks on-camera; however, if you watched the show and noticed Joanie and I sipping these delightful concoctions and you're wondering what they were, click here for the recipe!

New Recipes for the New Year

Happy New Year!

The idea for our latest cooking show was sparked during a recent trip to the supermarket.  Another shopper noticed the spaghetti squash in my cart and started asking questions:

"Is that a spaghetti squash? What are you going to make? How do you cook it?"

It only took me a few minutes to answer her questions.  It was her final comment that caused the rusty gears in my head to start turning: "It sounds easy enough.  I guess I just need to branch out and try new things."

Hmmm, I thought to myself, the next cooking show could revolve around that theme.  We all get stuck in a rut now and then.

Maybe you've never cooked spaghetti squash before, or maybe you're looking for a twist to your usual prep methods --like baking slices of eggplant parm individually, instead of frying and layering them casserole-style. My friend, Joanie, joined me for this show.  At the end of the night she declared, "I think I may have found my new go-to recipe for eggplant parm!"

Bubbly Raspberry Cocktails

It seemed fitting that we should pop open a bottle of bubbly to toast 2018! We added a handful of fresh raspberries and a few spoonfuls of vanilla ice cream to create Bubbly Raspberry Cocktails. Mmmmm.

Click here for the printable recipe.

Spaghetti Squash Alfredo with Prosciutto and Asparagus

We jumped right into preparing our first dish.  We made our sauce while the spaghetti squash was roasting, and then shredded the squash and served it right in the shells.

{{Are you laughing at these pictures?  I forgot to take pictures after we finished cooking! We were already digging in and filling our plates when I suddenly remembered that I needed to snap a few photos for this blog. Instead of asking everyone to freeze what they were doing so that I could grab my DSLR camera to try and take photos, I made do with my iPhone. On my best day, I take horrendous photos. THESE photos, however...yikes.  Please accept my apologies!}}

Pasta with Chicken and Mushroom/Wine Sauce

There is so much going on here.   Sautéed chicken cutlets, bow tie pasta, wild mushrooms.  The mushroom/wine sauce is heavenly...and crumbling crispy pancetta on top sends over the top!

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Skip the frying and layering.  This recipe for eggplant parm is quick compared to the traditional method, and this platter was the one that was empty at the end of our cooking session!

Individual Braciole

There are probably as many different braciole recipes out there as there are chefs to cook them!

Different fillings, different preparation methods--adjust the fillings to suit your taste.

I keep my filling really simple--just garlic, parsley and romano cheese.  Just enough to season the beef!

If you google "braciole" you'll find lots of different variations.  I like to cut the flank steak into individual portions, which goes against the grain--pun intended, ha!--of some purists.  Others butterfly the steak so there is one huge, albeit thinner, steak to roll up.  Some people add pine nuts, additional spices, bread crumbs, sliced cheese, sausage or prosciutto.  I'm sure I left out lots of other possible additions.  Feel free to fill your braciole with whatever ingredients you like!

Today's Playlist

• "Learn To Fly"...Foo Fighters
• "Another One Bites the Dust"...Queen
• "Should I Stay Or Should I Go"...The Clash
• "Troublemaker"...Weezer
• "Back Against the Wall"...Cage the Elephant
• "The Denial Twist"...The White Stripes
• "Love and Affection"...Neon Trees
• "Chelsea Dagger"...The Fratellis

Lasagna Bolognese with Bechamel

I'm just not ready for summer to end!

I'm not ready for my kids to be back at school.  It frees up a bit of my time, but what good is having extra time if they're not around to spend it with?

I guess I'll spend some of that extra time cooking.  Lasagna, for example.  I don't typically spend 2 1/2 hours cooking dinner (who does?), but when I do, this lasagna makes it worth my while!

Ravioli with Tomato and Basil Cream Sauce

There's just so much to love about summer.

Warm, sunny days.  

No school.  All my kids are here, home for the summer, everybody under one roof.

Which means there are more people around for Gus to play frisbee with.

More people around for Clyde to turn his puppy charms on.

Those eyes....are like two puddles of...okay, I'll give you whatever you want.  *sigh*

And now that it's summer, our local Farmers Market is open.  Today's recipe was inspired by the ravioli I bought from the pasta vendor there!

Crab Cakes and Dill Sauce

It's no secret I'm a terrible photographer.  Just scroll through my blog and you'll find proof.

Yesterday, I thought I would work on my skills and attempt to photograph some of my deck plants.  This was the first (and only) photo I took:

When I was looking through the viewfinder, I was thinking to myself, "Wow, it's so sunny I can hardly see."

Yep, not only am I a terrible photographer, I'm a clueless one as well.

I snapped the photo, then pulled it up onto the screen to check it and thought, whaaat......turns out my lens was all fogged because it was so humid out.  Note to self: allow the camera a little bit of time to adjust to the temperature change on a hot and humid day after it's been sitting in an air-conditioned house.

Live and learn.

 Temps were about 10 degrees higher today, but there was less humidity so I was able to get the shots of my flowers before they die.

Because they ARE going to die.

Killing plants is another one of my specialties.

You'll notice that my containers are heavy on the moss rose (portulaca), which is sun-loving yet drought-tolerant.  My kind of container plant!

I've been cutting my dahlias to take into my house.  It seems that every bloom that I cut is quickly replaced by two more.  I cut all of these and took them into my house.

 I love how perfect they look when they are wide open!

I sat down to write this blog post and my shadow, Clyde, sat down next to me and then promptly fell asleep.

He is at an age where he is never willing to sit for me to photograph him.  So I grabbed a photo while he was sleeping.  And the whir of the camera woke him up,  Oops.

I'm sure if he could speak, he'd be saying, "Huh?  Why'd ya wake me?  It's only my 13th nap today."  And if he could speak, I am sure that his voice would sound exactly like Homer Simpson's.  That's the voice that I imagine in my head when I imagine him talking.  Sort of a dopey voice, because he's a dopey dog.

NOT that I hear voices in my head.  Only Clyde's voice.  The voice that I imagine he would have if he could speak.

I'll stop now.  And give you today's recipe, inspired by the fabulous crab meat that I bought from the seafood vendor at the farmers market.  Crab Cakes and a yummy dill sauce.

Broiled Ginger-Soy Chicken Cutlets

Why don't we just get the puppy pictures over and done with:

Clyde is 5 months old now and actually willing to strike a pose now and then. 

What a difference a week makes; he no longer feels the need to investigate the camera in my hand whenever I sit on the floor with him.  Our photo sessions never last very long, anyway; I can't spend any amount of time focused on him without the urge to cuddle taking over!

I'm still unable to use my oven.  My handy-dandy repairman came to take a look at it, and confirmed that it is the baking ignition that is not working.  So I'm waiting for the part to arrive. I can still use the stove-top burners, and even the broiler, which got me to thinking:  why don't I ever use my broiler?

I couldn't remember the last time I broiled something, so I searched my blog (HA! I just KNEW this blog would serve a purpose someday!  Even if it's only to refresh my feeble memory that it's been six months since the last time I broiled something), and the broiler was last used to make Broiled Zucchini With Melted Cheese .

So I challenged myself to come up with something that can be broiled.  Erin and Mr. Terrific both agreed that this broiled chicken is a keeper!

Gnocchi With Sage & Garlic Butter Sauce

Oh, what a day.

Today is Caitie's birthday!  How on earth did the last TWENTY-ONE YEARS fly by so fast?!!

My baby.......

.........is all grown up, in little more than the blink of an eye.

Erin and I spent the better part of today making a birthday cake.

My first attempt at making fondant.  Nothing I've ever made has even come close to frustrating me as much as making this fondant.  At this moment, I can politely say I am not fond of fondant.

Yesterday, when I made the fondant (or Saturday, when I made my first batch of fondant that was so cement-like all I could do was chuck it into the trash), I had nothing polite to say about fondant.

It even gave me second thoughts about the dinner I was planning on making tonight.  Another attempt at something I had never made before.  Gnocchi!

Last summer, my son went on a trip to Italy and came home raving about gnocchi.  It was sort of surprising to me, because other than potato chips and french fries, he just doesn't like potatoes.

So here we are, 8 months later, I finally decide that today is the day I'm going to make gnocchi.  After the frustration of making the fondant, I can't believe that I still wanted to take on a recipe that by all accounts, takes lots of practice to perfect.  And a recipe that is hard to use exact measurements for ingredients because it all depends upon the starchiness of the potatoes and the level of humidity and--for all I know--which side of your head your hair is parted and whether or not you listen to music while you cook.

I'm just kidding about that last part.  Sort of.

Oh, what the heck.  I told Sean that today was gnocchi day and I wasn't going to wimp out on him.

I had researched gnocchi recipes on the Internet, and sort of morphed all the recipes together and came up with this one.   The only thing the recipes agreed on was potatoes, eggs and flour.  All of the measurements were different.  All of the methods were different.  In a nutshell, this is how I came up with the recipe:

1.  Out of the six recipes I looked at, five boiled the potatoes and one baked them.  Yet they all agreed that moisture is not your friend--so I went with the lone rebel and decided that baking was best.  (I mean, the water that you would use for boiling is moisture, right?  And moisture is not good?  So why would I boil?  Am I not a logical thinker?  Should I continue to ponder this?  Why ponder, when baking makes sense?)

AND

2.  Though all of the recipes were made with at least one egg, four of the recipes said that authentic gnocchi should not have eggs.  However, since it is very hard to get the dough to bind without eggs, it's best to use eggs, just use as little as possible.  The recipe that used one egg used two potatoes.  Since I'm so competitive, I decided that I was going to try to see if I could manage four potatoes with one egg.

AND

3.  Three of the recipes only suggested an amount of flour, and said to add it a little at a time, until the dough "felt right."  Too much flour makes the dough heavy.  The recipe that used the least amount of flour suggested 3/4 cup for 2 lbs. of potatoes.  My four potatoes weighed almost three pounds, so I decided I would try to use about a cup of flour.

Pasta With Chicken And Creamy Pesto Sauce

This recipe came about because my daughter needed an empty cream carton for a school project.

To stop myself from pouring the cream down the drain, I thought I would come up with a way to use it.  I know, I know, you're thinking, "well, couldn't you just have put the cream into another container?"

And, yes, I could have put it into another container, but the way that works around here is that I usually forget that I transferred an item out of its original container, so the foreign container would just sit in my fridge way past its prime until someone notices it and says, "hey, what's this (insert your favorite color) stuff?  And I say "what (pink) stuff?" (Pink is my favorite color but you can insert your own color, especially if it's green.)

And then it would dawn on me that the (pink) stuff was the cream which was way past its expiration date.    

To avoid the scenario I just described, I decided to make a pasta sauce with what was left in the cream carton.  And because the Christmas season puts me in a red-and-green mood, I decided that basil and tomato needed to be part of the sauce.

Fresh Tomato Sauce

You remember my bruschetta from a couple of days ago?

When I was dicing up the plum tomatoes, I was wishing that the ones I have growing in my garden would just ripen already so that I can make fresh tomato sauce.

And I couldn't stop thinking about it, to the point where it was all that I wanted.

And then I thought, oh, what the heck, why don't I just go and buy some tomatoes and just get it over with!

So that's what I did.  Bought the tomatoes, and made the to-die-for sauce.  And I still can't wait for my own plum tomatoes to ripen so that I can do it all again!

Taco Chicken Fettuccine

Sometimes I sit and look at the screen and spend more time trying to come up with a snappy title or catchy name for a recipe than I do actually writing the blog post.

Tonight was one of those times.

How do I translate this pasta and chicken recipe with a creamy taco-inspired sauce into few words?

Hmmmm....... I can't figure that out, so the utilitarian "Taco Chicken Fettuccine" will have to do.

This recipe is very easy and fairly quick to prepare........you will be able to saute your chicken and make a creamy, spicy sauce while you wait for your water and pasta to boil .

Meatless Friday #1--Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce

I've prepared plenty of meals without meat, with no stress involved.  Then why do I feel sort of panicked and indecisive on Fridays during Lent when planning meatless meals?

The only answer I have is that I prefer to do something when I want to do it rather than be told that I have to do it.

The following recipe is one of my favorite tomato sauces, no meat involved, and at the top of my go-to list for a Lenten Friday night.